December 2010 Newsletter

Page Title Content

2-4 Letter from the Principal Dear Lobo Families!

5-6 Counseling Office ACT Test Dates College Applications Counseling Website Financial Aid Night – Dec. 8 SAT Test Dates

7 Parent Portal Parent Portal Access Instructions

8-9 Leadership Council Leadership News Next Meetings Dec. 15 & Jan. 19 Conifer High School Alumni

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Clinic

Prevent the spread of illness

11 News & Financial Office Newsletter Money Saving Ideas

12

Athletics Winter Sports – Events Kudos

13 Attendance Office Misc.

CHS Attendance Policy CHS Robotics Team After Prom Party

14 Officer Macdonald Winter Driving

15 Up Coming Event Barnes & Noble Book Fair

2

Letter from the Principal

Dear Lobo Families:

Our mission statement begins with “Always striving to be a caring community…” As I watched our students

playing the first Mountain Bowl at CHS I could not help feel the sense of pride Conifer High School staff,

parents and students talked about four years ago when I interviewed.

As you can see from the photo, over 2500 fans showed up to be part of this wonderful event and throughout the

game so many parents, alumni, and students commented that this was a very special day for our community.

Barb Ford from the Canyon Courier wrote about the urban myth “pigs will fly” before Conifer plays at home.

Well, pigs were flying at CHS and it could not have happened without the help of so many.

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We had many volunteers who helped make our field spectator ready. The effort of purchasing and installing the

scoreboard, fencing, and excavating that enabled us to place our bleachers on the hill carried a bid price of

approximately $175,000. As a result of the support from volunteers, local businesses, Rotary, Journey Church,

Earth Works, Alpencrest Landscaping, Purrington & Associates, and Sayler and Sons, we completed the project

for just over $60,000, and at no cost to the taxpayers.

The FSN commentator who was covering the game said to me “This is one of the most striking and picturesque

sites I have ever seen… your community is so lucky to have a school in such a beautiful place.” I couldn’t

agree more! Below is a list of volunteers who were recognized before the game for their efforts:

As we celebrated Thanksgiving, I am reminded of all the blessings we have had this year. Our fall sports

season has come to a close and our boys tennis took first place as a team in the Lincoln Invitational tournament

with a significant number of boys who placed in Regionals. Our volleyball team advanced to Districts and our

softball girls made it to Regionals. The cross country team as well as our marching band advanced to State to

finish 16th and 14th respectively. Special congratulations to cross country girls runner Gabrielle Valenzuela for

placing first at Regionals and 14th

at State out of 200 plus participants. In addition, we just learned that our

cheer team qualified for Nationals that will be held in Orlando, Florida, in February.

Gary Aron Jeff Lueders

Holly Anderson Susan Maloney

Griffin & Jim Anley Jon & Steven Manning

Dillon Araki Dave, Patrick & Matt Marshall

Jane Baumann Charlie Mazza

Denny Boyet Kim & Molly McCallum

Club Officers Hartley McLaggan

David Leek & Family Kate Mohrman

Karrie Davin Andy Murray

Cheryl, Bob & Shelby Donovan Stan, Karla & Cole Nichols

Dozbaba Family Carrie Oletski

Cameron Eckhardt Chris Purrington

Terri Eilers Ruddy Family

Jim Eleniewski Weston Ryan

Lori Frease Angie Sanders

Doug, Ann & Don Fuller Sayler & Sons & Corbi

Jim & Jimmy Harris Dennis Schavietello

Mary Hastings Jerry & Beth Schroeppel

Heinrich Family Colleen Skates

LeiLani Hines Todd & Gayle Smith

Gary & Claire Holt Mike & Tammy Story

Huber Family Andrew Summar

Rachel Hughes Becky Tiffin

Susan Irey Marty Trinkino

Peter Italiano Pat & Cindy Vondenkamp

Dave & Sandy Jackson Kurt & Lucia VonFay

Debbie Jessee Ellen & Lynn Wakeman

Terry, Ryan & Zach Keller Kristin & Thomas Waters

Dave & Lori Kinser Carol, Steven, Mikaila & TJ Way

Dave Linn Matt & Matty Wright

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Grace Crawford and Ben Mayeux were honored as National Merit commended students, and over 11 freshmen

and 11 sophomores scored threes or better on the AP exams last year.

Our DECA District Conference went very well - out of the 76 qualifying slots, Conifer took 27, Evergreen 13,

Green Mountain 11, Chatfield nine, Bear Creek seven, Columbine five, and Dakota Ridge four. We had an

outstanding conference last year, which makes me so proud of this year's group for topping the 2009

performance. For the second year in a row, Conifer had the highest test score in the district (Brian Orwig). We

also increased our qualifying percentage from 58% to 60% and our percent of district qualifying slots increased

from 31% to 35%. Thanks for your support of the program. These students take much more to competition

then what they learn in marketing - you are all a huge part of their success!

My staff and administration team with the help of PTSA and our parent leadership are embarking on a new

accreditation plan outlined by the state. This plan has fostered outstanding conversations and new ideas to

improve student achievement and growth. Our students have taken the PSAT, ACT/PLAN, ACT/Explore and

our students will be taking finals in two weeks. One senior said to me after she returned from Outdoor Lab, “I

can’t believe how fast we grew up. It seems like just yesterday I was a sixth grader and now I only have one

semester left.” Yes, they grow up fast!

So, as I look forward to the holiday season I would hope everyone can give thanks for their health, family, and

friends. Also, thank you for having such great students and sending them to our school.

With so much Lobo Pride,

Dr. Michael P. Musick, principal

Conifer High School

DECA kids at District

5

CHS Counseling Office

News

The counseling department wishes

everyone a safe and happy holiday

season. Thank you for all of your

support with your students!

Ms. Henry

Mr. Longbrake

Mr. Neuenschwander

Ms. Wambeke

Ms. Writz

Attention Seniors:

Make sure you are checking the College Scholarship Application Board in the

Counseling Office.

New Scholarships are posted all the time, so get used to checking the board weekly.

ACT Test Dates December 11, 2010 February 12, 2011

April 9, 2011 April 27, 2011 (required testing date for all

juniors) June 11, 2011

Please pick up registration information in the counseling

office for additional information and deadlines, or visit their website for registration and more info.

www.actstudent.org

Whether you do your application online, or by hand,

all applications will need an official transcript sent by

CHS. The transcript fee is $5.00 for each transcript.

To order a transcript from the counseling office, pick

up an “Official Transcript request form” in the

counseling office, fill it out and turn it in with all of

the paperwork that we will be sending to the college to

Mrs. Henry.

The Counseling Office will send all forms,

recommendation letters, transcripts and test scores to

the college. We will copy everything we send so that

we have documentation if there is ever a question.

If you want to check on the date that your application

was sent out, log on to

www.connection.naviance.com/conifer or there is a

link to Family Connection on the counseling

homepage. Your log in is the student’s first initial and

last name and the password is the 6 digit month, day

and year of the student’s birthday.

Example. Jdoe

032287

Check out the Counseling Website!

We have over 100 links to information on colleges and careers!

Go to the conifer homepage Click on Counseling

Click on Links

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SAT Test Dates December 4, 2010 January 22, 2011 March 12, 2011

May 7, 2011 June 4, 2011

Please pick up registration information in the

counseling office for additional information and deadlines, or visit their website for registration and

more info. www.collegeboard.com

Financial Aid Information Night Put it on your calendars

Thursday, December 8th,

2010

7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Get information from the experts on the financial

aid process.

Featured website of the month!

This month’s website is put out by ACT. Parents can subscribe to a monthly

newsletter from ACT with a lot of great information on the whole college process.

Visit http://www.act.org/path/parent/news/index.

html

Or access the site on the Conifer Counseling page (From the Conifer Home

page, click on “counseling”, click on “links”, click on “testing”, click on “ACT Parent Newsletter”)

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If you have any questions with Parent Portal please call Ms.

Delafose at 303-982-2778.

8

Leadership Council News – Dec. 2010

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Meeting Information: Leadership Council is the collaborative decision-making, advisory and accountability committee for CHS.

Meetings are held the third Wednesday of each month, 3:30 – 5:30 PM in the Library Conference Room.

These meetings are always open to the CHS community. A ten-minute Open Forum period is held at the

end of each meeting to address any concerns that may not be on the agenda. The next two meetings are

December 15th and January 19th.

Lobo Leap Ice Cream Social: On October 6th, Leadership Council sponsored the Lobo Leap Ice Cream Social. Students were invited to

this event due to their stellar performance on CSAP and Advanced Placement (AP) testing. To qualify, a

student must have achieved an Advanced score on their spring 2010 CSAP testing or jumped a level from

the previous year’s testing on any sub-test of the CSAP. Students with high growth were also recognized.

Additionally, students qualified to attend if they scored 4’s or 5’s on spring 2010 AP testing. Three

hundred twenty-four invitations were extended to qualifying students.

Congratulations to these outstanding students!!

Welcoming Environment survey: Recently an on-line survey was provided for the parents and guardians of CHS students. The district

provided the first three questions and their subparts. Leadership Council provided the final question and

its subparts. There were 226 people who participated in the CHS survey. A review of the results is

underway and will be published in a future CHS newsletter. District wide results will be published

regarding the three district questions. The responses and comments will be utilized to improve CHS and

its welcoming environment. Also, in January and February, a more in-depth survey will be conducted to

accumulate greater information and feedback from the parent/guardian community. Please watch for this

future survey. Parents and guardians are encouraged to participate and make their voice heard!

Join PTSA! The CHS PTSA provides a wealth of support for students, parents and staff! Did you know they sponsor

the Back to School BBQ? Provide dinner to staff for fall and spring conference days? Provide breakfast for

students during the 6 days of CSAP testing? Sponsor the FREE After-Prom party for all juniors and

seniors, at a cost of about $10,000? This showcase event has been held at CHS the last two years in

order to provide a safe, drug and alcohol-free, and “close to home” event following the Prom. The entire

CHS community benefits from the activities and events PTSA sponsors. The officers all work full-time jobs

and still volunteer their time to support our students, parents and staff! Go to the CHS website. Under

the link “Parent”, click on “PTSA Information” to find out what PTSA is all about and to become a member.

And visit their incredible website to find the latest news about CHS events –

www.chsptsa.blogspot.com

Do you sometimes feel you don’t know what is going on at CHS? Subscribe on the website to receive the

posts automatically!!

For more information,

Contact

Tammy Story or Heather Kassman

Leadership Council Co-Chairs

303-697-0811 / 720-320-8743

beflippin@msn.com / kasskell2@aol.com

Visit the Leadership Council web page:

From the Conifer High School page, click on “Parent” from the top menu bar.

Then click on Leadership Council.

Or visit:

http://sc.jeffco.k12.co.us/education/components/docmgr/default.php?sectiondetailid=17

9387&PHPSESSID=c0d84acb0a1a3981fd2b4105565b7ed8

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Seeking . . .

Conifer High School Alumni Do you know any Conifer High School Alumni? Leadership Council is working on the initiation of a CHS

Alumni Association. Our database of contacts is growing, but with 13 classes of graduates, there are likely

over 2500 alumni in the collective pool!

Help spread the word . . . .

Conifer High School Alumni Association Colorado is on Facebook!

Alumni / Staff Winter Break Social

Thursday, January 6th, 3:00-6:30 PM

CHS Staff Lounge, 2nd floor

For more information, contact Tammy Story (beflippin@msn.com or 303-697-0811) or Heather

Kassman (kasskell2@aol.com or 720-320-8743).

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PREVENT THE SPREAD OF ILLNESS

SIMPLE PRECAUTIONS CAN HELP LIMIT THE SPREAD OF ILLNESS AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE:

WASH HANDS FREQUENTLY AND THOROUGHLY WITH SOAP AND RUNNING WATER. IF

SOAP AND WATER ARE NOT AVAILABLE, USE AN ALCOHOL-BASED HAND SANITIZER.

AVOID TOUCHING HANDS TO EYES, NOSE, OR MOUTH.

COUGH OR SNEEZE INTO YOUR ELBOW IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A TISSUE. OTHERWISE,

COVER YOUR NOSE AND MOUTH WITH A TISSUE, THROW THE USED TISSUE INTO THE

WASTEBASKET AND THOROUGHLY WASH YOUR HANDS.

STAY HOME WHEN YOU ARE SICK.

AVOID CLOSE CONTACT WITH INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE SICK.

AVOID SHARING OF WATER BOTTLES, MOUTH GUARDS OR INSTRUMENT MOUTH

PIECES.

AVOID SHARING OF EATING UTENSILS, DRINKING GLASSES OR PERSONAL ITEMS SUCH

AS TOWELS, RAZORS OR MAKEUP.

TALK WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER ABOUT AGE APPROPRIATE

IMMUNIZATIONS INCLUDING AN ANNUAL INFLUENZA VACCINE.

STAY HEALTHY WITH NUTRIENT RICH FOODS, PLENTY OF WATER, EXERCISE EVERY

DAY AND PLENTY OF REST EACH NIGHT.

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Newsletter Info.

Newsletter Available Online

All newsletters will be available on the CHS PTSA website: www.coniferhighptsa.org (click on the newsletter link).

Newsletter Submission Guidelines Submissions for the school newsletter must be received by the 15

th of the month if you would like your news to get in by the 1

st of

every other month. Any submissions received after the deadline will be posted sometime later in the next issue.

Submissions must be in Microsoft Word, plain text, or HTML formats (PDF documents are okay but the print/web quality is

sometimes not the best). You may include as much information as you like and as many graphics as you like since the online version of the newsletter does not have space restrictions. Graphics may be included within the Word document or submitted separately as Jpeg or GIF Files. Please give your document a relevant title. Do not name it “August Newsletter” or “Newsletter Announcement” only. Please use the corresponding department or organization as the first word in the document name. For instance, “Math_AP Classes.doc” or “Counseling_August Newsletter.doc” would be appropriate document names. Send your newsletter submissions to Sandy Miranda: smiranda@jeffco.k12.co.us . Thank you for your cooperation!

If you are interested in volunteering as a Webmaster/Editor for the CHS newsletter please call Sandy at 303-982-5035.

Student Activity Tickets are available in the Financial Office. The cost for the ticket is $25.00. With the

“ticket” the student is given a $2.00 discount into games. Adult All Sport Ticket Booklets are also available. Each booklet costs $45.00 and contains 10 prepaid

tickets for use at Jeffco League events only. This is a $.50 savings for each event attended. Are you 55 or older and a resident of Jefferson County? If so, you can pick up a Lifetime Activity Pass in

the Financial Office. This pass gets you in free to all regular athletic and activity events. This pass admits

the cardholder only. Fundraising Idea – Conifer High School sells Safeway and King Soopers gift cards. The CHS Club of your

choice receives 5% of every gift card you buy and it costs you nothing (just what you would normally

spend on groceries or gas)! Questions? Call the Financial Office at 303-982-5238.

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Paperwork In order for a student to participate in a sport, they must have a current sports physical (physicals are good for

364 days). If the student participated in a sport for the current school year, all they have to do is let the Athletic

Secretary know to switch their “card” from one sport to another, as long as it’s in the same school year. We

also have the athletic forms and emergency cards in the main office.

Fees: The fee is $125 dollars per sport For Scores/Stats of games please go to: http://www.varvee.com/organization/view/430

Winter Sports Season has begun. Good luck to all our teams:

Boy’s Basketball, Girl’s Basketball, Wrestling and Girl’s swimming and diving teams.

GO LOBOS!

Kudos:

We would like to congratulate all of our athletes for their fall season. Special shout out to the boy’s tennis team

for taking 1st Place as a team at the Lincoln Invitational tournament. There was a significant number of boy’s

who placed in Regionals:

3rd

Place #1 Singles: Brian Orwig – 12th

3rd

Place #4 Doubles: David Clark – 9th

3rd

Place #2 Singles: Noel Lane – 12th

Reid Lange – 9th

3rd

Place #2 Doubles: Skylar Budd – 10th

4th

Place #1 Doubles: Jeremy Swanson – 10th

Matt Twombly – 11th Brandon McGlynn – 11th

Cross Country boys placed 3rd

@ Regionals as a team and took 16th

@ State.

A special congratulations to Cross Country girls runner Gabrielle Valenzuela for placing 1st @ Regionals and 14th @ State out of 200+ participants.

Volleyball advanced to Districts - lost in the 2nd

round.

Softball lost in the 3rd

round at Regionals.

We have 4 students who signed with colleges:

Molly Walton – Augusta State University

Alison Gorrell – University of Wyoming

Mackenzie Miller – University of Louisiana at Monroe

Ryther Anderson – 11th Benjamin Fuller – 11th

Austin Reed – 12th Dylan Reed – 11th

Dylan Dionis – 11th Michael Fera – 10th

Kevin Johnson – 9th

Jeffco League Sportsmanship Statement:

"Conifer and the members of the Jefferson County League are committed to principles of good sportsmanship. We believe that all student-

athletes, coaches and spectators should strive to represent the very best spirit and tradition of interscholastic athletics. We request your

cooperation by supporting the participants and officials in a positive manner."

Travis Himmelman – University of Northern Colorado

Ashley Phelps –Texas A&M University Corpus Christi

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Conifer High School Attendance Office Attendance Line (303) 982-5240

Attendance Policy All absences must be excused by calling the attendance line or excused in person. NOTES ARE NOT ACCEPTED TO EXCUSE ABSENCES. When calling the attendance line, be very specific regarding the reason for the absence, dates and

times. Excusing an absence must be done by 2:00 the day after the absence or the absence will remain unexcused.

Your student is responsible for their own attendance. Should an issue arise regarding your student’s attendance, your student should talk with their teacher to resolve the discrepancy. The teacher will then notify the attendance office. Pete Wambeke

Attendance Office 303-982-5240

The CHS robotics team will begin its season in December and is looking for mentors. We are looking for

anyone who enjoys working with tools and highly motivated teens. Our team designs, builds, and programs a

120 pound robot (mostly from metal) in a six week build period - to compete in a regional competition. Most of

the build time will be in the evenings or on the weekends. If you are or know of a metal worker, mechanical

engineer, or someone who is just good with tools, please contact grubbfamily@familink.com for more

information.

Plans for the AFTER PROM PARTY have begun! The date is Saturday, April 9th 11pm - 3am. After Prom

Party is an event for juniors and seniors and their dates so that students have a safe, fun place to go after prom

rather than driving from party to party at individual's homes on our mountainous windy roads. Some of the

highlights of the party are laser tag, bungee run, obstacle course, human foosball, wacky tricycle races, many

prizes, food and music. This event is free to students but costs PTSA around $8,000 to put on. If you are

interested in contributing to this event fund - please send your tax free donation made out to CHS PTA. Mail to

Conifer High School After Prom Committee, 10441 Highway 73, Conifer, CO 80433 .

-Anyone interested in participating the night of the event, in set up on Saturday, prize acquisition, clean up

Sunday morning, construction of a "store front," food prep or a variety of other tasks, please email Sherry Fuller

- PTSA at Conifer_PTSA@yahoo.com. Meetings for After Prom planning are held at 9758 Fallen Rock Road,

Conifer, CO 80433 at 6:30pm on Thursdays: Jan 6th, Feb 3rd, Mar 3, Mar 17.

-Needed items - bean bag chairs (for the movie room), ivy type greenery garlands or tropical flower garlands,

PVC pipe with 3 way and corner connectors, flame resistant grass skirts - email Conifer_PTSA@yahoo.com

AFTER PROM PARTY

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From Officer Macdonald

With winter upon us we need to prepare for winter driving. Your students that are driving should prepare their

cars for winter driving with the following things:

Good winter tires – Colorado allows us to use studded snow tires

Snow brush

Blanket or sleeping bag

Check and replace if needed your windshield wiper blades

Check and fill all vehicle fluids

Other things that are good to have in your vehicle are:

Food such as gorp, dry cereal, Power or granola bars

Water

Snow shovel

Traction device – tire chains or cables, or mats

You can put together an Emergency Survival Kit that consists of the following:

Emergency heater

Hard candy

Emergency Mylar Blankets

The most important thing about winter driving is SLOW DOWN! Most winter driving accidents are caused

because someone is driving to fast and cannot react to a problem quickly enough.

Many of our kids (and us) like to snowboard, ski, snowshoe and participate in winter outdoor activities. Before

heading out to these activities preplan what you are going to do.

Check the weather for where you are going and your route to/from the activity.

Tell someone where you are going and when you plan to get back to include your route to/from.

Check your equipment prior to leaving.

Check your vehicle to include your gas level.

Most of us have cell phones. Keep them inside your clothing while outside. Cold temperatures can cause the

battery to die quickly. Remember that cell phones don’t always work everywhere. Also voice and text

messages are sent to separate systems and sometimes text will work when voice doesn’t. So for all you parents

(like me) that don’t text much if there is a problem you might try sending a text if you have no voice service.

Recently the sheriff’s office conducted a search operation for a woman whose cell could not receive voice

communications, but we were able to text her and found her very quickly. If you do get lost or stranded during

winter conditions in most cases you are better sheltering in place and wait for help. If you are with your car,

stay with it. It is easier to find your car than you and it affords shelter.

For the kids that go into the backcountry skiing, boarding or snowshoeing; they should take a back country

course to include avalanche training. They should always carry an avalanche transceiver, probe poles, shovel,

food, and water. Always tell someone where you are going, route you are taking, and when you plan to be

back.

If you or your students have questions about emergency vehicle survival kits please contact me.

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Conifer High School

Thursday, December 2 Chanson Plaza - Bowles & Wadsworth

Benefits……CHS Instrumental Music

Shop while you listen to the

CHS Jazz Band

And

Band & Orchestra Musicians

Perform Between

4:00 – 7:30 PM

Shop from 9 AM – 10 PM in the store or online to support the

CHS Instrumental Music program!

Visit BN.COM/bookfairs to support us online from 9 AM – 10 PM on Dec 2

by entering Bookfair ID 10294817 at checkout.

A percentage of your Barnes & Noble purchases

will benefit the Conifer High School Instrumental Music program.